Look Closely.
La G Studio has been taking appropriate steps to study social impact, responsibility and sustainability in today's modern market place.To date, the sustainability index is measured by 6 interconnected topics that help measure a business or products environmental impact:
- Transparency
- Emissions
- Water & Chemicals
- Materials
- Workers Rights
- Wastes
Re/Done
It’s an upcycling movement to restore individuality in the luxury fashion space, a movement to keep heritage brands relevant, and a movement to create sustainable fashion. RE/DONE jeans are a celebration of the Levi’s jean’s past and a continuation of the jean’s individual story into the future. This approach updates and modifies styles Levi's and repurposes outdated denim to timeless favourites. All styles use water-conserving methods without harsh chemicals. They are limited, hand-picked and hand-cut in small batches. Each and every pair proudly reveals one-of-a-kind hallmarks of a life once lived.
“Like a fine wine, Levi’s denim only gets better with age. Its travels have been recorded in the frayed pockets, the whiskered colouring, torn knees and faded denim.” Co-founder Sean Barron, Re/Done.
Re/done has diverted 145,000 garments from piling up in landfills. They celebrate a timeless appeal of classic silhouettes, beloved by rock & roll icons. They don't just use deadstock garments, they operate using practices which reduce water waste and CO2 emissions. Orders are distributed using recycled hang tags and biodegradable poly bags, 75% of factory production waste water is saved through a 3-stage purification system, and pumice stones for stonewash denim are repurposed and incorporated into housing insulation in low-income communities.
Veja is a brand we love for doing it right. As part of their inititative, they have enacted a strict no advertising policy but it would be hard not to have heard of them by now. Veja is your go to street sneaker; versatile, functional, and chic. They have designed an all in one shoe that's vegan, unisex, sustainable, and a cool alternative to your footwear repertoire. Veja carefully monitors their systems and supply chain lines and are constantly thriving for transparency with suppliers. They require reoccuring social audits and chemical tests that ensure they are inline with best in practice ESG guidelines.
Veja products are sold with mindful packaging (reducing ink and and eliminating glue), and made from sustainable materials (fairtrade, organic cotton, rather than from monoculture crops, natural rubber rather than from harvesting forests, upcycled materials). A pair of Veja costs 5 to 7 times as much to produce, but since there are no advertising costs they are sold for the same price with profits being reinvested on the ground.
Lark and Berry
Few would refuse the beauty and allure of a diamond. Even fewer would argue that sourcing these precious stones comes with a slew of ethical issues - from environmental devastation to the exploitation of workers. Lark & Berry offers sustainably-sourced, cultured diamonds, which are grown using lab technology. The byproduct holds the same quality as mined diamonds, but with the added bonus of sustainable credentials. They use lab-grown diamonds that are 100% traceable, so you know exactly where they came from and how they're produced. Furthermore, by lab growing diamonds you avoid creating huge holes on earth that need to be dug up, hence they don't cause any under ground water pollution or release any chemicals into the ground. They are guaranteed to be conflict-free every single time.
As renewables become more available, labs are also starting to switch their energy source to a higher percentage of green energy when growing diamonds; some even offer diamonds grown with 100% renewable energy. What's not to love with this new bedazzling technology.
We love classic staples curated into one perfect capsule collection for both men and women. Bespoke tailored lines with ethically and responsibly sourced materials is what we are talking about here. Sharon Cho is the who and the name we’re putting our money on. Sharon Cho is on the radar to become a leading innovator and change maker in the fashion industry, deservingly so. With a BFA from Parsons, she is a fashion guru focusing on tailored suit pieces that don’t just nod to sustainability but have it embedded deeply into the bloodline of the brand. It didn't take long before YOOX – the global online retail store that’s part of the Net-a-Porter group partnered with her to commercialise her collection after her six-month internship at YOOX’s Milan headquarters. The result is Sharon Cho x YOOX, a men’s and women’s suiting line crafted entirely from eco-friendly wool and recycled plastic bottles. The collection sits within YOOXGEN, the e-store’s dedicated section for socially and environmentally conscious design. We love this.
Who doesn’t love earth friendly chic houseware featuring functional products that can be used everyday? The founding couple of Nkuku are from Devon and they are working with artisans from around the world to celebrate their skills by bringing their products to a wider audience. Their aim is to delivery products that are conscious of the environment, functional for the home environment, and design centric for the sharp, trained, and most tasteful eye. They practice sustainable production and use uncompromised materials such as recycled glass, recycled cotton, sustainable hemp, bi-product leather, vegan fibres, and byproducts used and reused from the food industry.
Pleated skirts with a global twist. Chopova Lowena combines juxtaposing references, traditional dress and modern themes to create pieces which involve craft and tradition but are still functional. They use recycled textiles to create our pleated skirts, and approach design in a sustainable and long-lasting way. The name comes from its British-Bulgarian founders, Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena as they are quickly racked up a list of premium stockists since the launch of the label in 2017, including Matches, Farfetch, and Browns, and has become a street style hit thanks to its distinctive leather-belt skirts. The designers use unique recycled and dead stock fabrics to make the skirts, including vintage fabrics sourced from Bulgaria and the UK, which is where their sustainable credentials come in. The added benefit? Each skirt is unique. You're going to want the necklaces and dresses too.
Good things come to those who don’t waste” is the motto of this fun, eco-friendly womens active wear brand. Girlfriend collective creates elegant, timeless ethically made activewear that are made from 100% recycled post-consumer materials. To be exact, each pair of compression leggings is made from 25 plastic bottles that have been recycled while each bra uses 11 bottles. Spoiling the ocean has become a widespread issue and landfills are second up. Repurposing plastic waste into a functional solution to our everyday agenda is a wonderful place to start.
We love these unisex pieces for their effortless design but moreover for their everyday functionality This collective chose to focus on sustainable textiles and domestic manufacturing ensuring their supply chain starts at their origin. The hickory striped overalls are a unisex essential. Not to mention denim jeans, jackets, and shirts are all seasonless and genderless, making them a perfect addition to your wardrobe staple collection. All their pieces are made with fair trade from GOTS certified organic cotton. ARIELLE carries a size range of XS-L and are changing the way we dress everyday, ethically.
Konk is a multidisciplinary design studio and workshop producing bespoke pieces of furniture for both commercial and residential clients. Everything is handmade to order in their Bristol workshop by an expert team who are passionate about making functional peices sourced responsibly. When thinking about sustainability in furniture design the first things that come to mind are deforestation and wood reclamation. Deforestation is the process of transforming the forest to clear land for industrial and commercial purposes. If you care about the environment, you can start helping through simple things like opting for eco-friendly furniture and being more responsible when it comes to recycling.
Paper, London's swimwear is made from recycled fishing nets. These devastating materials would take nearly 600 years to decompose.'Nothing is more pertinent that the quote from Robert Swan: “The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.”' Paper Swimwear London's founder Philippa Thackeray explains. 'We all need to begin taking whatever action we can to save the planet - as a brand it is our responsibility to be sustainable.’
